1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to 11-hydroxypregn-4-en-3-one-20-carbaldehyde of the formula ##STR1## wherein the wavy line .about. denotes that the indicated hydroxy group is either in the .alpha.- or in the .beta.-configuration, and a microbial method for producing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
11-Hydroxypregn-4-en-3-one-20-carbaldehyde, hereby provided in accordance with this invention, is a novel compound which has not been described in the literature up to this day. The compound is obtainable by permitting a selected strain of microorganism to act upon 11-hydroxylithocholic acid or/and a salt thereof, and is of value as a starting compound for the synthesis of corticoids having potent antiinflammatory activity such as hydrocortisone, cortisone, prednisolone and prednisone.
For the production of prednisone, for instance, there is known a process which involves twenty-odd steps starting with deoxycholic acid [L. F. Fieser & M. Fieser: Steroids, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1959, pp. 634-647] but since this process requires use of costly reactants and reagents and a long series of production steps, it is not much suitable for commercial production.